Musical effects pedals are attached to a surface and incorporated into a device known as a pedal board. A pedal board is a flat surface to which musical effects pedals are temporarily attached for both transport between locations and for use during musical performances. Most guitar and other stringed instrument artists will use a number of musical effects pedals to vary the sound of their instrument by running the output of the guitar through the musical effects pedals before the output is sent to an amplifier. Each musical effects pedal may be switched on or off and most have additional adjustments which will alter the sound of the instrument and may be controlled by the artist to produce a particular sound or effect. Musicians will often vary the musical effects pedals they wish to use for different performances and require a relatively quick and easy method to change the musical effects pedals on their pedal board to alternate pedals which produce different effects. Additionally, musical effects pedals are sometimes in need of repair or fail to function and need to be removed or replaced on the musician's pedal board. It is not practical to use pedal boards which are large enough to hold every musical effects pedal an artist may use over the course of a longer period of time. For these reasons, attaching a musical effects pedal to a pedal board needs to be a temporary attachment and, at the same time, an attachment which offers stability, security and longevity.
The most commonly used method of attaching musical effects pedals to a pedal board is by using VELCRO® which is a hook and loop material. VELCRO® is the ‘standard’ for attaching musical effects pedals to pedal boards. A hook and loop material allows for quick and easy replacement of pedals and has the ability to make the position of the pedals adjustable. However, a hook and loop material has some drawbacks in this application. A hook and loop material is not always a secure attachment as it is a temporary attachment system by design. Musical effects pedals can become unattached to the pedal board if the hook and loop material fails to hold it in a manner secure enough to keep it attached during transport, movement or use. This can cause the pedal to become damaged, lost or unusable. Additionally, as musicians push the buttons on the pedals to turn them on and off with their feet, a hook and loop material will compress thus making the pressure to turn the effect on or off vary due to compression of the hook and loop material. This is particularly unwelcome on musical effects pedals where the effect is variable based upon the pressure applied. Hook and loop material attachments also tend to have an amount of movement or rock to the connection. Another drawback of a hook and loop material is the hook and loop material's ability to pick up debris in its hook fabric and in its loop fabric which causes the hook and loop material to become less effective and its appearance to be less than desired.
As previously discussed, a musician uses the musical effects pedals to alter the sound of the instrument's output being transmitted through the musical effects pedals before it is converted to sound waves the audience can hear via an amplifier or sent to a recording device. Each musical effects pedal causes the output from the instrument to be altered or to produce a different sound effect. A musician may use any number of effects pedals during a performance and may need to turn on and off any number of effects during a single song. Musicians use their feet to press buttons or switches on the musical effects pedals to turn them on and off. Additionally, some musical effects pedals are variable and the musician will change a setting on a musical effects pedal with their feet for some period of time during a performance. In essence, a musician may spend a great deal of time touching buttons, switches and pedals on a pedal board.
Pedal boards are traditionally made to lie on the stage floor. Alternatively, the pedal boards may be slanted at some angle toward the musician. The farthest point of the pedal board surface would generally be higher off the floor than the portion of the pedal board closest to the musician. In all cases, the angle relationship between the surface upon which the pedal board rests and the mounting member upon which musical effects pedals are placed is predetermined by the design of the pedal board. To change the angle, the support system for the mounting member would have to be changed, altered or in some way modified from the current condition. The only other option would be to put something under the pedal board to shim it to a different position which may make the pedal board unsteady.
Musicians, like all human beings, vary greatly in height, have different limb lengths, and have differences in their personal preference as to what is most comfortable for them as they play their instrument. Additionally, the ability to reach, touch and adjust each button, switch or pedal on a musical effects pedal attached to a pedal board by the same artist will change considerably if the artist is sitting versus standing. Current pedal boards do not have a system to allow for adjustment within the pedal board's own infrastructure. To change the angle of the musical effects pedal on current pedal boards would require either moving the musical effects pedals to a different pedal board with a different predetermined angle or placing an object between the pedal board and the surface upon which it rests. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement in the art.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.